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Flood of Economic News
Shows September Strength

By

Mark GongloffThe Wall Street Journal Online

Updated Oct. 15, 2004 1:03 p.m. ET

Apparently worried that Wall Street wouldn't have enough to do today, the U.S. government helped out by dumping a slew of economic reports first thing in the morning. When snapped together, the puzzle pieces formed a generally sunny picture of September's economy, but raised some warning flags about the months to come.

In the most important report, retail sales grew at a pace nearly double that expected by economists, more than making up for August's small decline. Sales were driven by robust demand for autos and auto parts,...